Rabbi Binah Wing has been the leader of Rockford’s Temple Beth-El since 2002. She’s a Chicago native who moved here from Cincinnati. The congregation currently has 110 family units. She answered questions posed by the Register Star:

What has your involvement been with Transform Rockford?

Early on (Transform Rockford executive director) Mike Schablaske came to talk to me. At the time I wasn’t clear on what it was about. So I had a healthy amount of skepticism. There was a clergy visioning session at Rockford University. I participated. I found the process really interesting and was drawn into it. It seemed positive and forward looking, but at the same time realistic.

It’s a relatively young movement, but what are your impressions of Transform Rockford so far?

Positive. The visioning process was good. You started out talking about what your ideal vision of Rockford would look like. Then you got together with a smaller group before meeting again with the large group to narrow the vision to a few categories. And then getting to vote with transform dollars, where you thought the project should start.

I was impressed.

Temple Beth-El is part of a group of four congregations. We call ourselves Partners for Faith. It’s us, Spring Creek United Church of Christ, Gloria Dei Lutheran and St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church. We’re all small, but when we do things together we can make a bigger impact than what we can make separately.

Why do you think Rockford needs an organized movement like Transform?

It has the potential to be unifying, getting people together. We have a lot of things in common, more than what we think we do. We need to draw that out of one another, draw out our inner goodness, working toward the good of the community. Rockford can use that unity and forward-looking energy.

What has been the reaction among Temple members?

There’s been conversation. There are more people who don’t know exactly what it is and what it is doing. There are some people who are hanging back with a wait-and-see attitude. They say they’ll get involved when Transform starts doing something.

Have you spoken about Transform during sermons, or do you plan to?

I haven’t yet, but I likely will.

Is there a message that people need to hear from clergy about Transform Rockford?

The message people need to hear from clergy is that it is possible to come together, that there is hope. Without that hope, it’s really hard to see the future. That’s one of the things the clergy can provide.

Among clergy, has there been buy-in?

There has been and there will continue to be more. Rockford clergy isn’t exactly unified. There are multiple clergy associations, three major ones to start with. There hasn’t been much interaction. But within the last year or so, we have see the beginning of collaboration between the different groups. If that can continue then we can begin to speak with a more unified voice on issues.

What do you see as the biggest barriers to commitment for clergy members?

I think that hope is something we’ve lost some of as well. I think we get wrapped up in our congregations and our own challenges. We get wrapped up in our own stuff and have lost the hopeful unity that allows our voice to mean something. The clergy voice in Rockford is not nearly as strong as it could be.

What do you hope is the outcome of clergy involvement?

If you go fast forward in the Transform Rockford timeline, 20 to 25 years, I hope that we can look on a much-improved situation in the city and that I can look back and say I was an integral part of making that happen. I have a certain amount of regret that I was skeptical at first.

Is there anything else you want to say about Transform Rockford?

One of the values is inclusion. I hope we can make that happen. There are a lot of divisions in this city, along class lines, racial lines. There is work to be done. The issues my congregation has, on the east side are relatively stable, versus a congregation on the west side, it’s a very different kind of thing.

Brian Leaf: 815-987-1343; bleaf@rrstar.com; @b_leaf

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